By Elakai Anela, Beat Writer
Outfielder Ben Sebastiani starts to raise his front foot as the pitch comes toward him. Sebastiani hit the go-ahead three run home run in the fifth inning to give Sonoma a lead it would not relinquish during a 6-3 victory Thursday against the Petaluma Leghorns in the Sonoma County Classic. Photo Courtesy of Karsen Kaiden / Sonoma Stompers
Outfielder Ben Sebastiani's fifth-inning three-run home run broke open a tight game and helped the Sonoma Stompers defeat the Petaluma Leghorns 6-3 Thursday night in the Sonoma County Classic at Arnold Field in Sonoma.
The Sonoma Stompers improved to 5-1 with a 1-1 record in California Collegiate League play.
Petaluma scored the first run of the game after a one-out walk by outfielder Carter Capobianco. Capobianco advanced to second base on a passed ball, stole third and then scored due to another passed ball.
Sonoma had the chance to answer in the bottom of the first and second innings but left the bases loaded.
In the opening frame, the Stompers had the bags packed with nobody out before they grounded into a fielder's choice. The next two hitters struck out. The next inning, infielder Misael Uriepero rolled into another fielder’s choice to leave three baserunners stranded.
Stompers manager Zack Pace said postgame that he wanted to “see his guys hit” and “come through” with the bases loaded in both innings.
“I wasn’t really worried; I wanted to see our guys hit.... I want us to do a little better in those situations moving forward,” Pace said. “But, yeah, I was relieved we started hitting.”
In the third inning, the Leghorns doubled their lead on an RBI double by infielder Aidan Jones to score Capobianco from first base.
Sonoma went scoreless through the first three innings. The Stompers didn’t record a hit until the bottom of the fourth inning.
With two outs and runners on second and third in the bottom of the fourth, infielder Tino Vasell tied the contest with a 324-foot triple over Capobianco’s head in center field. It was the first triple of the season for the Pleasant Hill, Calif. native.
Sonoma took the lead an inning later, one that it would not relinquish. With two runners on and two outs, Sebastiani hit a three-home run over the left-field wall to push the Stompers in front 5-2.
Stompers right-handed pitcher Ken Blankenship stabilized the lead in long relief. Blankenship retired 12 of the 15 batters he faced and did not allow a run across four innings of relief.
Blankenship said that he heard the bullpen was “probably going to be down a couple guys” pregame, which meant he had to fill the role of pitching in the middle innings.
“I came in and said, 'Alright, let’s go,'" Blankenship said. “I know we got a good team right here; I know we got a good defense, a good offense. All I get to do is pipe down some down the middle and let them work behind me.”
While Pace said that he “was unsure” what Blankenship’s role would be moving forward, he’s confident he will continue to thrive.
"He’s a good arm. I really look forward to seeing him going forward,” Pace said. “He ate up four innings and had a really good outing. He was mixing speeds, mixing locations well.”
Sonoma added its sixth run in the eighth inning on an error by Petaluma infielder August Block. The Leghorns responded with one last run in the top of the ninth, but catcher/right-handed pitcher Gage McCownpicked up his second save of the year.
The Stompers return to California Collegiate League action Friday when they host the Walnut Creek Crawdads in a rematch of last year's CCL championship series.